local assistance network white goods criteria

Tom O'Connor

my disabled wife and i have been told we can not have a replacement washing machine from our local assitance furniture/white goods supplier as we dont have children and the only give them to families with children as they class them as a luxury item

Debbie_Alumni

Hello Tom,

Sorry to hear that your local scheme have told you that you cannot have a replacement washing machine. I would be happy to look into this for you. Could you please tell me who your local council is and I will get onto this. Every scheme varies in how you can qualify for help but certainly if you do not have any other means to meet this need then there should be some provision for you. I have read that washing machines are considered to be essential household items but that in some areas the provision of these could be further restricted to priority applicants only.

Priority applicants could include

• Families with children under the age of 16
• Disabled people or people with a long term health condition and who are in receipt of DLA/PIP/AA/ESA/SDA/ICB
• People who have exceptional circumstance, i.e. people with incontinence problems

As I've mentioned, each local authority has their own criteria. Let me know who your council is and I'll see if I can find out what there is and whether there is some local help available to you.

It's worth carrying a grant search on www.turn2us.org.uk to see if you can identify any potential grants that might be available. Alternatively you might be able to get a 'Further Assistance Payment' from one of the energy trust funds to help you purchase a new washing machine. https://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/money/further-assistance, you will need to provide evidence of exceptional circumstances but it's good to know that there is help out there.

Thanks for getting in touch and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Kind regards

Debbie